


The Bad Bet

by shadowmaat



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Slavery, accidental slave acquisition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-07 09:19:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16851373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowmaat/pseuds/shadowmaat
Summary: Fives enters a wager without getting all the details first. His General is Not Amused.





	The Bad Bet

Fives stood ramrod straight in the face of his General’s wrath.

“Tell me again,” Skywalker said. “Slowly.”

Fives swallowed and resisted the urge to look away. Echo was standing off to one side, but there would be no reprieve there. His vod was at least as furious as his General.

“Yes, sir!” Fives discovered that he could, in fact, stand even straighter. He ignored the slight tug at his kama that was the reason he would very likely be executed in the next few minutes.

“I was playing a friendly- uh, a game of sabacc with some of the locals, sir!” He stared at a point slightly above and to the left of Skywalker’s left ear. “The betting was starting to get a little... carried away.” He winced.

“Carried away,” Skywalker repeated. “You mean like carried away to the point where you  _won the life of another sentient?_ ”

Fives leaned back half an inch and licked his lips. “It wasn’t like that, sir! I- I mean I didn’t know! I- He-”

He heard Echo clear his throat. He paused, taking a deep breath before starting again.

“One of the other players, his name was Vexan, was on a losing streak and so he put up, ah, what he called his little birdbrained pet as collateral.” He very carefully didn’t look at the small figure clinging to his kama. He swore he could feel the temperature drop five degrees as Skywalker’s icy eyes bored into him. “I- I thought he had a pet convor, sir, or maybe a kiros bird. He- he said it-”

“ _She_ ,” Skywalker corrected with a hiss.

“Yes, sir, he said  _she_ was good for running messages and could be trained to do more.” He didn’t feel the need to share the laughter that had accompanied that statement. He hadn’t understood it at the time and didn’t want to think about it now. “I- I thought it might be nice if the squad... had a little mascot. Sir.”

His memories of the previous night were still muddled- and starting to take on a nightmare quality- but he definitely remembered thinking that a convor would show up the 212th’s tooka kit.

“And what do you think of your ‘mascot’ now, Trooper?”

“I think she should be freed, sir,” he said, and something uncoiled in his chest at Skywalker’s small nod.

“Good, Maybe there’s a brain inside that armor after all.” Skywalker knelt, his anger visibly draining away as he smiled at the young girl Fives and Echo had brought to him. “And what about you, Little One? Do you have a name?”

“Birdbrain,” said the young Rishii, in a perfect imitation of Vexan’s voice. “Stupid, Heyoo, Schutta!” She hid her face in Fives’ kama and he automatically reached down to pat her head.

There was a muscle twitching in Skywalker’s jaw, but his voice stayed pleasant.

“Is there anything you call yourself? Do you remember your name from- from before?”

She muttered something into the cloth. Fives found his fingers soothing down her headfeathers. “It’s okay, vod’ika,” he murmured. “You’re safe now.”

“Nazeel,” she said, looking up at him with wide eyes. “Vod’ika?”

He felt his cheeks heating up. “It means little sister.” Belatedly he glanced at Skywalker, sure that he was about to be skewered on the spot, but the look in his general’s eyes was less actinic and more thoughtful. Calculating. It was, somehow, not very reassuring.

“I trust you have the pertinent contact details for this kar- this  _sleemo?_ ”

His shoulders twitched. “Sir, yes, sir!”

“Good.” Skywalker stood, dusting off his knees. “Forward everything to me. And I mean  _everything_ ,” he said. “I have a contact in the local secforce who’ll be very interested in any slavers.”

His grin was nexu-like and Fives felt a trickle of sweat start down his spine.

“In the meantime,” he continued, “I’m leaving you in charge of Nazeel.”

Fives felt as if he’d taken a blaster bolt to the chest. He couldn’t be serious, could he? But Skywalker was already walking away. 

“Make sure Kix checks her out and gets that kriffing chip outta her.”

“Sir-”

“And get her something to eat!”

“She already- yes, sir! Uh...” Before he could come up with a question, the General was gone. He risked a look at Echo.

“You heard the General.” Echo’s expression was unreadable. “Go see Kix.”

“Yeah, but Echo, I can’t...”

“Can’t what?” He tilted his head.

“I mean, she’s... she’s...” He glanced down at Nazeel, who had taken his hand and was examining each gloved finger.  _She’s too young, she’s too innocent, she’s too tiny-_

“She’s your responsibility,” Echo said. “Until the General says otherwise.”

For a panicky moment Fives considered the possibility that Skywalker might not rescind his order.

“Maybe this’ll finally teach you a lesson about making bad bets with people who aren’t your brothers.”

Fives sighed. He had definitely learned  _that_ lesson. He crouched before Nazeel. “Hey there. Would you like to go meet my brother, Kix?”

She gave him a somber look and then launched herself into his arms with a high-pitched squeal, nestling close with her arms wrapped around his neck. “Nazeel Vod’ika meets more brothers?”

“I... Yeah.” He felt his heart do a funny flop. “Yeah, let’s go meet some more!”

He carried her from the room, knowing he’d do whatever it took to keep her safe. She wasn’t just a  _responsibility_ , she was his  _sister_.


End file.
